Target: Ingrid Newkirk of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

Goal: Praise PETA for stopping the military from using live goats for training

Late last year, the animal welfare organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) began efforts to put an end to the military’s use of live goats for medical and special ops training where they were used essentially as test dummies. This week the group finally succeeded with Congress agreeing to pass legislation to discontinue these kinds of activities. PETA deserves our thanks.

The use of test animals by the military is a subject that rarely gets media attention, as it is generally kept strictly within government circles, but animal rights activists have been quietly protesting these training programs for the last 30 years. The practice received national attention for the first time in the ’80s when activists discovered that dogs and cats were being used to simulate soldier-trauma on the battlefield. Although they succeeded in getting the military to end the use of dogs and cats, the recent investigation indicates the government merely swapped one animal for another and the testing was never completely discontinued.

The medical and trauma experiments kill an average of 300 goats each month. This week a news source in the Fort Bragg, North Carolina area released information indicating that Special Operations Command for Fort Bragg requested funding for the purchase of 4,000 goats in 2012 alone. That’s an average of 300 animals being shot, tortured, and tested on every month for the past 30 years.

Fortunately, because of persistent pressure from PETA, the military has agreed to discontinue this kind of testing entirely. Later this month the Department of Defense will provide congress with a timeline for when legislation can expect to be passed to officially end the use of animals in trauma experiments. Please sign the petition below to congratulate PETA for this extraordinary victory that will save the lives of thousands of animals every year.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Ingrid Newkirk and PETA,

This month you succeeded in convincing the military to stop its use of goats and other animals in medical and special ops training. This is a huge victory for animal rights, not only because it will save the lives of thousands of animals every year, but also because you proved that no matter who the responsible party is—government, military, etc.—people can still use their voices to successfully defend those who can’t defend themselves. Your voices were heard and for that we thank you.

We hope that a victory within the government itself will influence further legislation for animal rights. Again, thank you for your tireless effort and for protecting thousands of goats from being used as nothing more than crash test dummies.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo credit: trailtrotter53 via Flickr

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